Speed Dating with Food: Less Awkward Than You Think

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There are, of course, risks to thrusting your dating life into the Internet's great unknown — besides the obvious, like going home with a convict, you'll more than likely spend a lot of time being bored. Which is at least one reason to check out former Rescue Chef Danny Boome's "Speed Plating," which launched in New York last August, his first foray into the dating world (personal life excluded). For $100, Boome serves four courses, which promise to be anything but boring, to paired-off singles — the first event was held at Tree in New York City's East Village — each dater switching to the next after every twenty-minute course. Speed dating might not be everyone's thing, but great food is as good an addition as any if you want to do it well. We sat down with Boome to ask him how effective it really is.

ESQUIRE:So why would I want to Speed Plate?

DANNY BOOME: To be absolutely honest, speed dating is like shooting fish in a barrel. I like to go on dates, but if it doesn't work out you always feel guilty. So for a guy who doesn't want to feel trapped, it's perfect — and that's the reason I designed it. In New York, you have too many of everything, and there are more women than men in this city, so at any event you are always going to get more women. If you're a guy, think of the math.

DB: Yeah. The actual success rate has been two couples per event. You basically have a one-in-four chance of meeting someone, or a one-in-three chance of making new friends. You may meet someone through one of those people; you just have to open yourself up to it.

ESQ:So one of the nice things is, you get four dates, instead of one, right?

DB: Yeah, and you don't have to pay for any of them. When a girl comes up to you in a nightclub, and you say, "Do you want a drink?" and she says yes, it's the same as walking into some big-box store and asking a guy who works there if he has the light bulbs you are looking for. When he leaves to go check in the back, you know he is never coming back. It's the same with the girl. She tells you she has to "go check on her friends." She's surely not coming back. That's really the problem with going out to bars and clubs.

ESQ:Why host Speed Plating at Tree?

DB: It's not just about dating. It's about restaurants. For the restaurants, their quietest night of the week can turn into their busiest night of the week. And Tree is a small place, an American bistro; the food is what I like to call shab-chic. There is nothing pretentious about it — it's all great ingredients. And Colm and Mark, who own the place, are really good hosts. They know how to keep a smile on everyone's face.

ESQ:Anyone you wouldn't suggest participate in Speed Plating?

DB: If Pauly D or the Situation wanted to come to something like this, it's not the place for them. We out-price the sharks, but we encourage the serious people.